Acces PCI-ICM422/2, User Manual

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Page A-3
Manual MPCI-ICM4S.F1b
RS485 Data Transmission
The RS485 Standard allows a balanced transmission line to be shared in a party-line mode. As many
as 32 driver/receiver pairs can share a two-wire party line network. Many characteristics of the
drivers and receivers are the same as in the RS422 Standard. One difference is that the common
mode voltage limit is extended and is +12V to -7V. Since any driver can be disconnected (or
tristated) from the line, it must withstand this common mode voltage range while in the tristate
condition.
The following illustration shows a typical multidrop or party line network. Note that the
transmission line is terminated on both ends of the line but not at drop points in the middle of the
line.
Figure A-1: Typical RS485 Two-Wire Multidrop Network
RS485 Four-Wire Multidrop Network
An RS485 network can also be connected in a four-wire mode. In a four-wire network it's necessary
that one node be a master node and all others be slaves. The network is connected so that the master
communicates to all slaves and all slaves communicate only with the master. This has advantages
in equipment that uses mixed protocol communications. Since the slave nodes never listen to
another slave's response to the master, a slave node cannot reply incorrectly.